Sonic Fated
by Sonic.stories.here
Summary: 20 years into the future. Sonic and his world have both changed... Sonic is being hunted by G.U.N, Tails has grown up, Shadow had been captured, Knuckles is out of control... What else could go wrong?
1. Chapter 1: Straight to hell

20 years into the future…

Sonic ran. That was all he ever did now. Ever since his "friends" had changed, he had felt like it was time to move. He never really stayed in one location for too long. One place would get too boring and he would move on to the next. The world around him was one big blur. He felt like he had already run every square inch of this planet. Nothing ever changed. And once something is seen as too powerful, it is seen as a threat. And Sonic, constantly having the ability to save or destroy the planet, was seen as just that by G.U.N. The only thing they had to show he wouldn't betray them was his loyalty to the planet, which they had no way of testing. So he was constantly being hunted. It wasn't the way he had wanted the rest of his life to play out, but it wasn't like he had a choice. Ever since he began living like this, he felt emptiness inside of him. Like something was just… missing. He had lost his friends, his home, and his mobianity. To everyone he was seen as a reward or a target. His once perfect carefree life had literally become a living hell…

Tails had opened up his own mechanic shop in station square. He worked all seven days of the week. Fixing all that he could and inventing new things. Some were for good purposes, some for bad. It all depended on how well they paid him. He had been alone for a while now. Ever since Sonic had left, his world had fallen apart. The one person he had considered family, his only family. The thought of that blue bastard made his blood boil. He left him, he left them all. Since that day, he had dedicated his life to becoming as strong and as fast as he could. So that the day that blue hedgehog finally dares to show his face, he could teach him a lesson…

Indeed, once something is seen as to powerful, it is seen as a threat, and Shadow knew that all too well. Ever since he had been captured, he had been kept deep beneath G.U.N HQ and used as a living energy source. By removing his inhibitor rings, he had become an endless energy mine. And hooking him up to a machine that they had gotten specially made by Tails, he powered the entire facility. He never complained, or talked at all. Sometimes he would mumble something to himself, but never said anything to anyone. He would simply glare at anyone who dared make eye contact with him. Those eyes were enough to even scare the commander. He wasn't always like this though. It all started when the hunt for Sonic began. They had begun testing new weapons capable of breaking the sound barrier and hitting their target instantly. Indeed they worked, when used correctly. They hired an expert sniper and ordered him to "take care" of Sonic. But he isn't the only hedgehog capable of breaking the sound barrier. He may have hit the wrong target, but had still taken down a big threat. With a bullet through the ankle, he wasn't able to escape. And the new life for him began…


	2. Chapter 2: Shadow's new life

"WAKE UP!" a voice boomed. Shadows head shot up, but the rest of his body remained still… strapped to a machine.

"Finally… had a nice nap?" the voice said. Right in front of him inside of a bulletproof control center was Commander Tower.

"Um sir…" one of the cadets next to Tower spoke up. The commander shot him a glare.

"What" his gravelly voice said.

"Well…I… never mind…" He said, getting back to working the machine.

"Good, now then, get the machine ready to run. Remember… keep an eye on him!" He commanded.

"Y-Yes sir!" The cadet cowered. The commander then sat back into his chair. He eyed the dark hedgehog. It was then that Shadow looked up and their eyes met. They no longer had the shine of a normal mobian, but contained nothing but darkness and anger. They seemed to stare right through him and into his very soul. He immediately averted eye contact.

"Gah… cadet Prower, Close the blast shields…" He grunted.

"But sir… didn't you just say…" He started.

"That's an order!" He yelled.

"S-Sir!" He said as he began to type in the command.

As the shield began to lower, cadet Prowers eyes met Shadow's. But in them, he didn't see hatred and anger, he saw a poor hedgehog that was all alone… and had no one… just like him.

"That blue jackass" He muttered under his breath. It was then that the blast shield closed completely.

"…it worked…"

Shadow's hands balled into fists as he heard the machine roar to life.

"I've only got one chance at this… better make it count…" he muttered under his breath.

As he felt his own powers draining he also felt another even more powerful source not too far away… the chaos emeralds. He could feel their power, but just couldn't harness it. But now, he had a plan. He intended to reverse the machine and gain enough power to call out to the emeralds. His power levels were quickly dropping, so he had to move fast.

"The servers are the seven chaos…"

Inside the booth, the commander could tell something was wrong.

"Chaos is… p-power…" With his energy dropping at an increasing rate, he had to speed this up.

"Power…enriched by the… h-heart…"

"SIR! THE MACHINE… HE'S…!" the cadet yelled. Tower stood up so fast that he knocked his chair over.

"MILES! SHUT IT DOWN NOW!" he yelled.

"I'm trying… but it's not responding!" cadet Prower yelled.

"T-the controller is… t-the one…" Shadow choked out, still fighting against the machine. His fur had begun to turn to a familiar gold color. Commander Tower quickly ran over to the machine and hit the emergency shutdown button.

"That…"Shadow managed to get out before all his energy was cut off. Tower took a deep breath and relaxed a bit. He glared down on Prower and then marched out of the room. Tails let out a sigh.

"I hate that name…" He muttered.

"NO!" he heard Shadow yell from behind the blast door. Tails wasted no time in raising it back up. He saw Shadow was trying to break free from the cuffs.

"DAMN IT! WHY WON'T THEY RESPOND!? WHY!?" He yelled, writhing to break the bonds. Tails clicked on the microphone inside the cell.

"Calm down Shadow…" He said. Shadow's eyes scanned the room.

"Who is this?" he asked, knowing this was not commander Tower. Tails then clicked the mic off.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" He demanded. Tails quickly ran out of the room and to the entrance of the cell.

"I might get fired for this… but who gives a damn right now…" He said as he began to try and override the security system (Which was no walk in the park). When he finally did get the door to work, it swooshed open. His eyes met Shadow's.

"Tails?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah…" He muttered, ashamed.

"So… you built this…?"

"…yes…"

Shadow suddenly tried once again to break free, startling Tails and making him step back. He had a faint green aura surrounding him; his eyes seemed to glow with rage.

"I SWEAR TO MARIA THAT THE SECOND I GET OUTTA HERE, YOU'RE ALL GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL!"

Tails hung his head.

"Yeah… probably deserve that…" he muttered.

"CADET! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOURE DOING?! GET OUT OF THERE!" A voice yelled… Tower.

"Well, nice catching up" Tails said sarcastically.

"Laugh now… but I swear you all will pay for this…" Shadow growled.

Tails remained silent as he walked out. The door swooshed closed behind him.


	3. Chapter 3: Regrets

Sonic came to a screeching halt and took in his surroundings. His home… where he had once lived… was completely different. A few stragglers wandered the streets, but other than them, no one dared show their face outdoors. He ran up to one, an elder looking fox.

"Excuse me, could you please-" He started. The man looked up at him. His eyes widened.

"G-Get away…" He coughed as he backed away. Sonic gave him a confused look.

"What? I just wanna-"

"I SAID GET AWAY!"

Sonic quickly took a few steps back. The old man quickly hobbled into an old building and shut the door behind him.

"What the heck happened here?" Sonic thought as he examined the buildings. Most of them seemed old and worn down, but one in particular stood out. It seemed clean and actually in business. He ran up to the door and stepped inside.

"Hello?" He called out. No response.

"Hey! Anyone in here?!" He yelled. Silence. Finally he heard some movement from the back room.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Someone shouted from the other room. A minute or so passed before someone stepped out. Sonic's eyes widened.

"T-tails…?" He said. Tails was frozen. How dare he… how dare he show his face now… after 20 years…

"Listen bud… I-" He began to say, but was cut off by Tails lunging at him. Quickly sidestepping, he dodged the attack.

"What's with people and cutting me off today?!" He yelled. Tails quickly got to his feet and attempted a punch. Sonic caught his hand and held him at bay.

"DUDE! What's wrong with you?" He said, trying to calm the fox down.

"You… that's what!" Tails yelled as he ripped his hand free of Sonic's grasp and swung his tails around. They connected with Sonic's side and sent him across the room. He hit the wall and had the wind knocked out of him.

"Tails… I know you're angry with me" Sonic gasped.

"YOU THINK?!" Tails yelled, leaping into the air and going for a ground pound. Sonic rolled out of the way and hid behind the counter.

"Look, I may have done some dumb things… but-"

"BUT WHAT?! IF YOU REALLY CARED, YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Tails flew into the air and swooped toward Sonic's head. Ducking down, Sonic tried to think of a way to end this. He stood up in time for Tails to kick him across the face. He fell to the ground and held his cheek. Tails landed and walked over to him. He grabbed Sonic by his chest and lifted him off the floor.

"HOW DOES IT FEEL HUH?! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ON THE SHORT END OF THE STICK, HUH?!" Tails yelled. Sonic grabbed his hands and pushed him away.

"Wow… you got strong…" He said with a smile.

"Yeah, all thanks to you…" Tails said, smirking.

"Well, I know what I did was wrong…"

"No shit idiot." Tails turned away and folded his arms. Sonic walked over and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Bro, I-"

Tails grabbed his hand and flipped him over his shoulder. Sonic landed flat on his back.

"Don't you dare call me brother!" He shouted.

"Well, the at least let me tell you why I'm here."

"…OK?"

Sonic reached over and grabbed a newspaper off the ground. He held it up for Tails to see.

"'Death Egg dangerously close to breaking atmosphere…' What's all this about? That old rust bucket had been floating up there for god only knows how long." Tails said.

"Yeah, with no one flying it! If it did break the atmosphere…"

"With no one to stop it… it would hit Mobius!"

"Yeah, now you see the crisis?!" Tails gave him a glare.

"So you didn't come back to see your friends?" He sighed. Sonic quickly stood up.

"No… well… I don't know. We'll settle this later; right now I need to borrow any ship of yours that can get to space!" Sonic said. Tails rolled his eyes.

"Good luck with that. Any aircraft that gets too close to breaking the atmosphere will either be sent a warning to return to Mobius… or be shot down." Tails said with a scientific tone.

"Damn… then how do we get to space without a craft?"

"Well, I think I know someone who can help…"


	4. Chapter 4: Sonic's old reunion

Tails walked down the sidewalk, Sonic trailing behind him. He let out a sigh, getting tired of walking. Meanwhile, Sonic really wanted to pick up the pace.

"Dude, why don't you just fly us to where were going?" Sonic complained.

"I don't do that anymore…" Tails said. Sonic gave him a confused look.

"What? Why?"

"Well, how many foxes do you see flying around?!"

"That's what makes you special buddy!"

"MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO STAND OUT!"

Sonic froze. Tails continued on without him.

"Tails… what the hell has happened to everyone…?" He though as he ran to catch up with him.

"So… who are we going to see and get us to the death egg without a spacecraft? …Jeez that was a mouthful…" Sonic said.

"Oh, were not going to get him yet…"

"Then who are we getting?!"

"For this plan… were gonna need some muscle…"

-Meanwhile-

Knuckles sat in a small alleyway between two buildings. It may not be much, but its home. Ever since the master emerald was "confiscated" by G.U.N, he had been living here. With no purpose and no job, the once great guardian was reduced to this. Scavenging for food, barley able to keep himself alive. The only one who ever did help him was…

"KNUX!" A voice called. Tails. Knuckles quickly got to his feet to greet his friend.

"Hey, long time no-" He started, but was cut off when he saw who was with him. Sonic.

"Hmph, what's HE doing here?" Knuckles muttered.

"He's going to help us…"

"WITH WHAT?!"

Tails quickly informed Knuckles of everything.

"Whoa… to think that I was sleeping on a story that big…" Knuckles said, gesturing to a pile of old newspapers.

"Have you really been living here?" Sonic said. Knuckles shot him a glare.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't know that…" He scoffed. Sonic turned away.

"Guys… I wish I could make it up to you…" He thought, feeling responsible for all that had happened.

"So, we gonna go get him or just keep standing here?" Knuckles said impatiently.

"Uh, HELLO?! I don't even know who were going to get! Mind informing me?!" Sonic blurted out. Tails let out a groan.

"Were going to get… Shadow…" He said. Sonic let out a sigh.

"Man… can't wait to see how he'll react to all of this… So, where is the old emo anyways?"

"Well, seeing him is no walk in the park considering…"

"Considering what?"

"Considering that…Well, he's kinda… locked up 10 stories beneath G.U.N HQ…"

"WHAT?!"

Knuckles let out an annoyed sigh.

"Yeah, a lot changes after 20 years…" He said, shooting Sonic another glare. Sonic rolled his eyes, trying to mask the regret he felt for abandoning his friends.

"Now then, I have a plan, but we have to execute it perfectly or else were all in some real deep crap..." Tails said as they all three walked off.


	5. Chapter 5: Breaking in

Tails knelt down behind a small warehouse close to the entrance of G.U.N HQ. Behind him was Sonic and Knuckles.

"Ok… I managed to re- activate my access card, so that should get us past the front door. Sonic, you're the fastest, so you take out the two guards. Knux, see what you can do about that vault door on the far side of the room, Ok?" He said. Sonic have him a thumbs up while Knuckles simply nodded. Tails and Sonic then rose up and headed for the door. Tails scanned his card and the door opened. As quickly as he could, Sonic ran in and took out the first guard, a skinny male cat. The second guard was a rather plump rhino, asleep on duty. Sonic tried to keep his laugher in as he tip-toed past him. He gestured for Tails, who gestured for Knuckles, and they both fell in.

"Knux, do your thing." Tails said. Knuckles cracked his knuckles.

"With pleasure!" he said. He took a few steps back and got a running start. His fist collided with the door, breaking it down, but also causing a huge crashing noise. The rhino slightly stirred in the other room, but remained asleep. Behind the vault door was an elevator. Sonic walked up to it and pushed the button. A few minutes passed. Sonic began taping his foot.

"Damn, how long does it take for an elevator to get up here?" He complained. Tails rolled his eyes. A few seconds passed after that and the two doors lid open. The three of them piled in and they began their descent…

An awkward silence was all that remained between them. Sonic let out a fake cough to try and break the silence, failing.

"Man, for the united federation, they sure have terrible security…" He said.

"I disabled the cameras and re-routed most of the guards to the opposite side of the building" Tails said, still looking forward.

"Oh…"

The tension between the three was so thick; it would probably take a chainsaw to cut it. Finally, the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Right outside the door were two guards. Sonic and Knuckles quickly took care of them. Meanwhile, Tails had begun to run down the hallway.

"Come on… where's that damn cell block 1138?!" He yelled, trying to find where Shadow was being kept. Sonic and Knuckles caught back up with him. Then, Tails came to a stop. There it was… cell block 1138.

"Knux, the door!" Sonic said. Knuckles folded his arms and turned away. Tails hit his face with his palm.

"Knuckles, ignore him. Please take care of the door." He said. Knuckles nodded, leaned back, and a few seconds later, the door was nothing but scrap metal. But the cell was empty.

"What? But he's supposed to be here!" Tails said, confused. Sonic shrugged.

"Maybe he already broke out?" He said.

"No… that's not it… THE MACHINE! We've gotta move, NOW!"

Tails took off down the hallway. Sonic and Knuckles followed.


	6. Chapter 6: Shadow's release

Tails was sprinting down the hallway as fast as he could. Sonic was easily keeping up with him while Knuckles was a bit behind.

"Dude, we could be going a lot faster if you… well… y'know" He said, elbowing his side. Tails rolled his eyes and began to spin his tails. As soon as he was in air, he passed Sonic and got a lot farther ahead. A smile spread across Sonics face as he picked up the pace to catch up.

"So, why are we in such a hurry?" He asked when he knew he was close enough.

"It's the machine that I- erm- That G.U.N has been using on Shadow. I was the only one who could use it. If anyone else were to try to use it, they could possibly kill him!" Tails said. Sonic's eyes widened.

"Wow, how much have I missed?" He said under his breath. Finally, they came to a stop in front of a door marked 'Danger'. Tails began to type in a code. Eventually, Knuckles caught back up.

"Thanks for leaving me behind jackasses…" He muttered. Sonic rolled his eyes. Tails finished typing in the code and tried the door, still locked.

"What? But, I only told the code to…" He said. Then, he began banging on the door with his fists.

"COMMANDER! STOP! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" he yelled.

Inside the room was commander Tower. He already had his hand over the switch.

"Damn it! Knux, the door!" Tails said. Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Is that the only reason you brought me along?" he said.

"What?"

"'Knuckles, get that door', 'Knuckles, the door'"

On the other side of the door, Tails could hear the machine roaring to life. A loud yell from inside followed, Shadow.

"PLEASE KNUCKLES!" He yelled.

"Hey, maybe I'm tired of listening to you! Y'know what, I never even liked Shadow! Why am I even helping you save him?!" Knuckles yelled.

"TO SAVE THE PLANET YOU DAMN IDIOT!"

"ENOUGH!" Sonic yelled. He ran past the two, curled into a spin dash, and busted the keypad on the side of the door. Thankfully, it slid open. Tails pushed past Sonic and ran in. He grabbed the front of the commander's vest and pulled him down so they were eye to eye.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" He yelled.

Inside the cell, Shadow was fighting to keep back a scream of pain. The machine had never been turned up this high. And it hurt… a lot. Tails threw the commander aside and went to work trying to stop the machine. He tried the emergency shutdown button, nothing happened. Finally, losing his temper, he grabbed for one of the overhead monitors, ripped it out of the wall, and threw it against the console, causing it to break and the machine to stop. From outside the room, Sonic watched with his eyes widened.

"What happened to you Tails. What happened to my little buddy?" Sonic thought. Tails then, grabbed for the monitor and threw it against the front glass as hard as he could. It simply bounced off and onto the floor. He punched with all his might, but still, no breakage.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled. Running out of the room and past Sonic, he went to the main entrance to the cell. He took out his card and scanned it. It opened. Smoke poured out. He ran in and up to the machine. He then began to type in the passcode to unlock it. Sonic followed him into the cell. To think, he had really missed this much. Tails finally got the machine to unlock. The metal cuffs holding Shadow released and he fell to the ground. Tails ran over to him. While checking his pulse, his eyes shot open. He grabbed his hand and threw him across the room. Tails crashed into Sonic, them both falling down. Shadow got to his feet and turned to face them.

"I told you…" He said, walking towards them. Sonic stood up and raised his fists. Shadow simply raised his hand. A red aura formed around it and Sonic left the ground. It seemed that he was being lifted by some invisible force. He was then abruptly slung against the wall.

"Telekinesis… but how?" Tails thought. Shadow continued to walk towards him. Tails got to his feet and got ready for a fight. Shadow took the first strike, his fist connecting with Tails cheek and sending him back to the ground.

"Shadow, I'm sorry, but we need-" Tails began, but was cut off by Shadow grabbing his neck and pinning him to the wall.

"No you're not…" He said. He went to finish him off, but suddenly a bang caused his head to jerk forward. A single drop of blood rolled down his forehead. He collapsed. Sonic stood there behind him with a metal pipe in his hand.

"What did you do?!" Tails yelled.

"You're welcome…" Sonic muttered.

"Ugh, whatever. Just help me get him out of here"

"After he just attacked you?! NO DICE!"

"Look, he's the only one I know who can use chaos control with only one emerald! He's our ticket to getting up to the death egg!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. Tails grabbed one of Shadow's arms and put it around his shoulders. Sonic did the same. As they began to walk out, they saw Knuckles standing there.

"Look, I- whoa, what happened to Shadow?" He asked.

"Sonic hit him with a pipe" Tails said.

"Damn, anyways. I wanted to say I'm sorry for losing my temper back there… forgiven?"

"Forgiven… now help us get him out of here. I swear Sonic if you killed him, were all in even more trouble than we already are in…"


	7. Chapter 7: Freedom

Shadow's mind slowly and steadily began to drift in and out from consciousness.

"Ugh… why can I just sleep forever?"

The world around him began to fade into focus.

"Well, may as well get up and get the day over with…"

He reached his hands up and stretched.

"Wait… since when could I actually… move?"

He slowly opened his eyes. He was no longer in his cell, but in what appeared to be an old garage.

"The hell? How'd I end up here?"

Looking to his left, he saw a familiar blue figure sitting next to him

"Sonic…?"

He tried to sit up, but a major migraine in his head made him fall back into the bed. Sonic heard this and turned to see that Shadow was awake. He walked over and knelt down at the side of the mattress.

"Hey dude, you feelin' alright?" He asked. Shadow rubbed his head, trying to make the pain go away.

"Well, aside for the hell of a migraine I have, I'm just PEACHY!" He said with an aggravated tone.

"There's the Shadow I know." Sonic said, smiling. Shadow rolled his eyes and attempted to get up again. Sonic put his hand to his chest to stop him.

"Shadz, stay down. You're in no condition to be walking around." He said.

"Yeah yeah…" Shadow muttered. Suddenly, another wave of pain rushed into his brain.

"AUGH! Why the heck does my head hurt so much?" He groaned. Sonic let out a nervous laugh.

"Heh, um… you… hit your head." He lied.

"I… did?"

"Yeah… don't you remember us breaking you out?"

"No… what are you talking about?"

"Wait… do you remember anything?"

"Not really…"

"Well, what's the last thing you DO remember?"

"I remember being hooked back up to the machine again… then… it all just faded to black. Next thing I know, I'm here."

"Well, you're safe now" Sonic said, dabbing a wet washcloth onto Shadow's forehead. It was then that the door behind him swung open. Tails stepped in.

"I thought I heard voices. You ok Shadow?" He asked. Shadow's head shot up when he heard that voice.

"You…" he growled. He slapped Sonic's hand aside and managed to sit upright.

"Shadow, just listen to me. I know you're confused… but I can help you with your new ability." Tails said, holding his hand out in front of him. Shadow gave him a confused look.

"Ability? Ok, now none of you are making sense." He said. Tails raised an eyebrow.

"What?" He said. Sonic grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

"Dude, he doesn't remember us breaking him out."

"What? How?"

"I guess I hit him harder than I thought…"

"Ok then. So, when do you plan on telling him that you hit in in the head with a metal pipe?"

"As far as he knows, that never happened. And as for him using that psycho- what's- it power, never happened too."

"We'll have to tell him eventually. But I mainly want to know how he learned to use it."

"Ask him later. Right now you need to fill him in on all that's happening."

"WHAT?! Why me?! He hates me!"

"Why exactly does he hate you?"

"Erm… well… never mind… I'll go talk to him" Tails said, walking out of the room. He walked back into the garage a few minutes later and sat down at the end of the mattress.

"Hey, Shadow. There's something we need to talk about…"


	8. Chapter 8: Monster

"YOU WHAT?!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. Attempting to sit up, he let out a sigh.

"Look, in my current condition… in any condition as a matter of a fact I would never be able to get you all the way up to the moon without an emerald." He said. Sonic rubbed his temple.

"Well, we need an emerald then." He muttered.

"It's not that easy. G.U.N has them all hidden somewhere in the facility." Tails said. Sonic was losing his patience.

"Then we'll break in again!" He stated. Tails hit his forehead with his palm.

"We barely pulled it off last time. Were gonna need another plan…" He said, thinking. Knuckles abruptly punched the wall, cutting his thoughts off.

"WE DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF TIME!" He yelled. Tails looked over, confused.

"What…?"

Knuckled held up the latest newspaper. It said that the death egg was within five miles of breaking the atmosphere and approaching… fast. Shadow's head shot up.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He yelled, losing his temper. Tails ran over to him.

"Calm down. We didn't want to drop this news on you with your current-" He began, but was cut off by Shadow punching his cheek. Tails was sent flying a few steps back. Shadow climbed out of bed.

"MY CURRENT WHAT?! I COULD KICK ALL OF YOUR ASSES NO MATTER WHAT!" He yelled.

Sonic ran up behind him and quickly caught him in a choke hold.

"CHILL OUT MAN! WHAT'S UP WITH YOU?!"

Shadow let out a growl. He grabbed Sonic's arm and flung him off. Knuckles then took a swing at him. Shadow dodged and hit him on the back, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground. He felt a smile cross his face.

"No…"

He reached down and grabbed Sonic, lifting him off of the ground easily.

"This… isn't me…"

He pulled his fist back and went for another merciless blow.

"STOP!"

It was then that something snapped. Shadow dropped Sonic and fell to his knees.

"What's wrong with me…?" he said between deep breaths. Tails sat up. He then noticed something. Shadow's inhibitor rings were gone. Knuckles quickly got to his feet.

"WHY YOU LITTLE!" he said, lifting Shadow off of the ground by his chest fur. Tails quickly grabbed his shoulder.

"Back off Knuckles. It's not his fault." He yelled. Knuckles felt his anger rising.

"HE JUST ASSULTED US ALL, YET YOU STILL ARE STANDING UP FOR HIM!?"

"He doesn't have his inhibitor rings! He can't control himself."

Knuckles let out an annoyed groan. He shot Shadow an angry look.

"You got lucky this time…"

He dropped Shadow to the ground. Tails ran over and helped him up. Sonic then slowly got to his feet.

"Monster…" He muttered under his breath.


	9. Chapter 9: Breaking in (again)

Sonic sat atop one of the many old cars in Tails garage, trying to think of a new plan for their second big heist.

"We managed it last time, what makes this time any different? Y'know what! I could break in and out and no one would ever even see me!" He said, talking to himself. Jumping off of the car, he straightened himself up.

"This one's for you Tails… I'll show you that I'm still a good friend…"

Meanwhile, Tails was hard at work in his lab making a pair of inhibitor ring substitute cuffs for Shadow. He wiped some sweat from his brow. Not only was he working on a new invention, but he was still trying to form a new break in plan. His mind was working so hard, he didn't feel the hammer slip out of his hand. It landed flat on his foot. He let out a small shout and held his foot in the air. While trying to maintain his balance, he fell over into a pile of boxes.

"Augh…" He muttered as he sat up. Most of the old boxes were filled with files and reports on failed inventions. Then, something caught his eye. It was an old book with "Memories" in gold print across the front. He grabbed it and walked back to his desk. Flipping open to the first page, he was greeted by some familiar faces staring at him from a photograph. It was a picture from Sonic's birthday party. Almost everyone was there. The thought of seeing them all again made a smile spread across Tails' face. He turned to the next page. One of the many pictures was him and Sonic in the tornado. Another was Sonic attempting a selfie with Knuckles and Shadow. Knuckles didn't look happy and Shadow was about ready to punch him in the face. Tails let out a laugh.

"Hah… the good ol' days… where did they go?" He said to himself, wishing things had never changed. The sound of footsteps approaching made him quickly close the book and hide it under some papers.

"Tails?"

He turned around, it was Knuckles.

"Oh… hey Knux…" Tails muttered.

Knuckles walked over to his desk.

"Whatcha doing?" He asked. He was dangerously close to the scrapbook.

"N-Nothing…"

Knuckles gave him a confused look. He then notices the odd paper formation. He brushed them aside and picked up the book. He flipped through a few pages, staying quiet the whole time. Tails looked away, feeling that Knuckles might think he had gone soft. Knuckles closed the book and set it down. He turned to face Tails. He then opened his arms.

"Come on buddy" He said. Tails stood up and found himself in a hug with the red echidna.

"It's ok… I miss those days too…" Knuckles said. Tails let out a sigh, hugging him back.

"Why did things have to change…?" He said, choking back on tears. Knuckles simply said nothing, but sometimes, it's not saying something that counts.

Sonic was running as fast as he could towards G.U.N HQ. He had one thing in mind right now, getting that chaos emerald and getting his friends back. Picking up speed, he could see the main door. Curling into a spin dash, he crashed right through it. As soon as he got in, the alarm sounded. A few guards came running out. Sonic easily took them out and began running down the hallways.

"Where are they?!" he said to himself. It was then that he stopped.

"Where would I keep something that powerful?" He thought. He spun around and took off the other direction. He then came to a stop in front of a door marked "Danger".

"It's always behind the danger door." He said, trying to pry the door open. It was then that someone came out of nowhere and kicked him in the side, throwing his balance off. Another kick to the back of his leg sent him to the ground. He looked up to see who he was facing. It was Rouge the bat.

"R-Rouge?" He muttered from the floor.

"Sonic?" she said.

"Look, I know it's going against your rules, but just hear me out…"


	10. Chapter 10: Old friend

Rouge bent over and burst into laughing. Sonic stood there, confused.

"Heh… you actually BELIVE that crap? Sweetie, it's just a dumb rumor going around." She said between gasps for air.

"No, it's true! If you don't believe it soon, it'll be too late!" Sonic said defensively. Rouge wiped a tear from her eye.

"Look Sonic… I like you, you're a good guy. Why G.U.N wants you dead I'll never know. But I'm giving you a chance here. Leave and I won't tell security it was you."

"I'm not leaving without those emeralds!"

"I didn't want to do this-"

Rouge was cut of mid-sentence by someone hitting the walkie-talkie out of her hand. She went to turn around, but something cold and metal was pressed against the back of her head.

"You're going to open that door Rouge" A voice said. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

"S-Shadow?" she choked out.

"Shut up and open the damn door!" He yelled. Rouge bit her bottom lip and made her way towards the door. Sonic looked over at Shadow. He seemed more pissed than usual. Rouge began typing in the code for the door. She stopped mid-way in her typing.

"Shadow… I just want you to know-" She began.

"You shut your mouth before I do it for you, PERMANENTLY!" He yelled. She let out a sigh and went back to her typing. She then stopped, abruptly again.

"Why'd you stop? Last I checked, the door still isn't open!" Sonic said. Rouge smirked.

"Shadow, how gullible do you think I am?" She said. Shadow's eyes widened. She quickly spun around, her foot colliding with his cheek, sending him to the ground. In his hand was a stapler.

"Did you actually think I would buy that? We learned that trick together, remember?" she said, standing over him. Shadow lay on the ground, breathing deeply.

"Jeez, how is this the Shadow that used to be on my team? Oh, right. YOU'RE NOT!" She yelled, kicking his side. He let out a groan of pain and clutched his side.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sonic yelled. She shot him a glare.

"None of your business. Now get out before I call security!"

"I'm not leaving him behind again!"

"Wow… you really have been gone 20 years…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Rouge dug her heel into Shadow's chest. He clenched his teeth and growled, trying to mask the pain he felt.

"Tell me hon, is this the real Shadow?"

"OF COURSE IT IS! NOW GET OFFA HIM!"

"Sweetie, this is nothing but one of those androids old fatty made."

Shadow's eyes shot open.

"W-what? Is that what they told you?" he said. Rouge pressed her foot down harder.

"It's the truth. Now drop the act."

"So, when I thought you had abandoned me… they had told you that dirty lie?"

"SHUTUP!"

"Rouge… it really is me…"

"No… the Shadow I knew died on a mission 10 years ago!"

"The Shadow you saw die WAS an android… I've been here for 20 years!"

"…"

Shadow grabbed her foot and moved it off of his chest. Struggling, he got to his feet.

"It's me…" he said.

"Shadow…"

Rouge wrapped her arms around him. Sonic watched, happy to see that things were getting better.

"Now then. Happy reunion aside, can you open the door now?" Sonic said, cutting in. Rouge let go of Shadow.

"Yeah… sure…"


	11. Chapter 11: Comfort

Tails held one of the chaos emeralds in his hand.

"How did you manage to get these?" He asked. Sonic smirked.

"I didn't do it alone…" He said, looking over at Shadow. Shadow narrowed his eyes and looked away.

"Oh yeah! Shadow, I made these for you." Tails said, holding out two arm cuffs. Shadow gave him a confused look as he took them. They nearly reached up to his elbows when he put them on.

"So… these work like my inhibitor rings?" he asked.

"Yeah… more or less…"

"Well, they certainly are… heavy…"

"Sorry, those rings really pack a punch, so creating a substitute with nothing to go off of was kinda hard."

"Thanks but no thanks. I'd rather walk around without these things. They'll just drag me down." Shadow said, attempting to remove them.

"Wait! Just… hit that button near the end." Tails said, smiling. It took Shadow a minute to locate it but he finally found the button. He pushed it and from the sides of the cuffs came two scythe-like blades.

"Whoa-ho ho!" He said.

"You didn't think I would just send you on a mission like this with no defense did you?" Tails said.

"These are certainly impressive… thanks I guess…" He muttered, looking away. Sonic frowned.

"What? No cool gadget for me?" He said. Tails rolled his eyes and threw him a wrist communicator.

"Wow… thanks a whole bunch bud…" Sonic said sarcastically.

"Just look at it…"

Looking closer, Sonic could see that he had a map of anything within a full mile radius. He could see around every corner, through every wall, know every route, and see what others couldn't.

"Cool!" He said.

"I figured you of all people would find this handy." Tails said. Sonic gave him his signature thumbs up.

"Thanks lil' bro!"

"Sure… whatever…" Tails said, looking away. Sonic let out a sigh.

"Well, I think we should all get some rest. It's practically midnight and were all still up. We've got a big day tomorrow, we need to be ready!" He said, sticking his fist into the air.

"Fine with me." Shadow said, walking out of the room. Tails simply nodded and walked after Shadow. Sonic was left alone in the room.

"Tails… why can't you just see how sorry I am…?"

Sonic lay on the couch in the small living room in Tail's house. It was small, but better than lying on the floor. He was still thinking about his encounter with Rouge. Was it a good idea to let her stay behind and cover for them? Could they trust her? He took a deep breath and tried to relax. Sleep was important… but hard to achieve. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. A few minutes passed. Sonic sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"I can't sleep…" He thought. It was then that he heard something. It sounded almost like a… whimper? He stood up and looked around, no one was in sight. Walking down the hallway, he heard it again. Listening as closely as he could, he found the origin of the sound. It was behind one of the bedroom doors… the one Shadow was sleeping in. He didn't want to bother him, but he also wanted to see what was wrong. Grabbing the handle, he slowly eased the door open. Shadow was asleep in his bed. Nothing seemed to be out of place. Sonic shrugged and went to close the door. It was then that he heard Shadow mumbling something. Glancing back into the room, he saw Shadow gripping his pillow tight and bearing his teeth. Was he having a nightmare or something?

"I-It's all my fault…"

A growl escaped his throat as he rolled over. Sonic felt bad for him. He had been through so much… just imagining the pain he must have gone through made him ache. He walked into the room and gently sat down on the bed net to him. He wanted to help him, but didn't know what to do. Feeling it was right; he reached down and gently began stroking Shadow's quills. Shadow let out a breath and relaxed, releasing his pillow and unclenching his fists. Sonic smiled. He attempted to stop, but once he did, Shadow tensed up again. Continuing, he could feel his eye lids getting heavy.

"Oh, I choose now of all times to get tired…"

He felt his eyes close and the world around him fade to black.


	12. Chapter 12: Uh

Sonic felt himself wake up, but didn't bother to open his eyes.

"Ugh… morning already?"

He pulled his pillow closer.

"Wait… why is my pillow… warm...? And… BREATHING?!"

He opened his eyes and looked down. He was lying down next to Shadow.

"Crap! I must have fallen asleep with him last night! I gotta get outta here before he wakes up!"

Sonic slowly began so slide out of the bed. Shadow suddenly rolled over, his arm landing on top of him.

"Oh no…"

He tried to roll free, but Shadows arm wrapped around him, keeping him in place.

"Ugh! He's not gonna be happy…"

Sonic let out a sigh and looked over at the door. It seemed so close, yet so far away. He rolled over to face Shadow. Shadow then let out a groan and began to open his eyes.

"SHIT!"

Sonic went to turn away, but it was already too late. Shadows eyes were fully opened. He seemed to not comprehend the situation at first, looking around for a few seconds, but then realized he was no longer asleep.

"Faker…" He said in a dark tone.

"Heh… I… uh… can explain…?" Sonic said, trying to find a way out of this. Shadow quickly sat up and got out of bed. Sonic sat up and went to follow him.

"Look, I heard you having a nightmare last night and I wanted to help, so I began kinda… petting you and you relaxed! But I guess I kinda fell asleep on you and that's how I ended up like that!" Sonic said quickly. Shadow simply pointed to the door.

"Out…" He said.

"Did you not hear me?!"

"OUT!"

Sonic's ears dropped as he walked out of the room. The door behind him slamming shut.

"Great… just… great…" He thought, walking back into the living room. Tails was sitting on the couch, as if he were waiting for him.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

"Don't even get me started…"

"Well, we need to get started prepping for the mission."

"Yeah, just one question… Once we get up there, how do you plan to stop the death egg just like that?" Sonic said, snapping his fingers.

"… guess I didn't think that far into it yet…"

"WHAT?!"

"Relax. We'll think of something."

"Ok…fine. Where's Knux?"

"He's testing out his new gloves"

"New gloves?"

"What? You thing I'll just give you and Shadow some cool toys and leave poor Knux out?"

"Good point…"

It was then that Shadow walked into the room.

"Oh, hey Shadow" Tails said. Shadow remained silent, walked right past them, and entered the other room

"Jeez, what's his deal?" Tails asked. Sonic lowered his eyes to the ground.

"Yeah… freaking emo hog…" He muttered. Tails leaned back and let out a sigh. It was then that they heard someone walk through the front door.

"Hey guys" A voice said. Knuckles. He poked his head around the corner, looking unusually cheery.

"Hey… Knux… What's with the happy getup?" Sonic asked. Knuckles smirked as he stepped around the corner to show off his new fighting gloves. Sharp as a razor and twice their normal size, they looked pretty intimidating.

"Whoa! Careful with those, dude!" Sonic said, taking a step back. Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"I'm getting a snack. I'm about to starve out here…" Tails said, standing up. He walked out and into the other room. Sonic took his seat on the couch and relaxed.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Sonic shot up like a bullet and ran into the other room.

"What's wrong Tails?!" he said. His eyes went wide from what he saw. It was… the biggest sandwich he had ever seen.

"What the hell?" he said.

"That's what I said!" Tails said. Shadow gave them a confused glance.

"You're not actually going to eat all of that… right?" Sonic asked. Shadow rolled his eyes.

"I haven't had REAL food for twenty years… so yeah. I think I'm going to eat it all."

"That thing is HUGE!"

"So?"

"So… wanna share?"

"Heh…no"

Sonic pouted as he left the room. Tails followed.

"Well, this had been a… interesting day so far…" He muttered.

"You got that right… think the mission can wait 'till tomorrow?"

"I thought you'd never ask."


	13. Chapter 13: Is this really the end?

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow all stood in the middle of Tails' garage. Each was getting ready for chaos control. Shadow was adjusting his new wrist cuffs, Knuckles was fiddling with his razor sharp gloves, Tails was getting the emeralds into a bag, and Sonic simply stood there, waiting for everyone else to be ready. Tails handed one of the emeralds to Shadow.

"You sure you can get us up there with only one?" He asked. Shadow rolled his eyes and snatched the emerald from his hands.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Without a warning, they were all transported aboard the death egg. Sonic was really shocked.

"Dude! A little bit more of a warning next time!" He complained. Shadow shot him an annoyed look and looked away. He was still mad.

"Ok, ok… We all need to get to the main control room. Follow me!" Tails said, running off down the hallway. Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow followed.

"H-hey! S-Slow down…" Shadow said, lagging behind. Sonic spun around and ran backwards.

"What? Still too slow?" He said, chuckling.

"P-Please…"

Shadow's breathing was heavy. He was barely keeping up with everyone. Knuckles looked back. He could tell something was wrong. Shadow suddenly stopped, taking a knee to catch his breath. Knuckles stopped and ran to his side. Tails and Sonic also stopped.

"You Ok?" He asked. Shadow shook his head. Tails ran to his opposite side.

"What's wrong?!" He asked, worried.

"My… ankle…"

Looking down, he saw his shoes cuff barely covering a deep scar. It seemed so deformed, like it had never had any medical care.

"Can you walk?"

Shadow took a deep breath and attempted to stand, nearly falling.

"Man… I knew something would go wrong. Sonic, carry Shadow!" Tails said, turning around. Sonic took a step back.

"Why me?"

"Two reasons. One, you were the one who pushed him, two, I need Knuckles to break down any doors in our way."

Sonic looked away.

"Fine…"

Tails and Knuckles ran ahead, leaving the two alone. Sonic walked over to Shadow, kneeling down to pick him up. Shadow slapped his hand aside.

"I'm not crippled damnit…" He muttered. Sonic gritted his teeth.

"LOOK I'M JUST TRYING TO HELP YOU! NOW QUIT BEING SUCH AN EGO HOG AND ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU NEED HELP!" He yelled. Shadow's eyes widened. Sonic stood there, towering above him, looking down. Shadow let out a sigh, giving up. Minutes later, Sonic caught up with everyone else, carrying Shadow in his arms, bridal style. He looked down at the hedgehog in his arms. His eyes were closed. Was he sleeping? If so… he's so adorable when he sleeps. The four came to a stop in front of a door.

"This is it. Knuckles, if you please…" Tails said, gesturing to the door. Knuckles clenched his fists.

"With gusto!"

With one swift strike, the door was down. Tails ran in and immediately got to work on the computer. Sonic stepped in, looking for a place to set Shadow down. His eyes fell upon an old office chair. He gently sat Shadow in it and ran to Tails.

"Anything I can do?" He asked. Tails held his hand out.

"Mind handing me that red screwdriver?" He asked. Sonic grabbed the screwdriver and handed it to him. A few more minutes passed, and Tails was up to his ears in wires.

"Hang on… there… that should do it!" He said, attaching two wires. The main console screen lit up.

"Nice work!" Sonic said. It was then that it glitches, turning to static. Then, a familiar face appeared on screen… Eggman.

"If you are seeing this, then my plans to take over the world have failed. But my plan B has just begun. As we speak, the entire death egg is being locked down with you on it. You will not oly be witnessing my flying doomship crashing into you're planet… but you will be destroyed with it! BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Sonic's eyes went wide.

"T-Tails…"

"He's right; all the main exits have been sealed. They're all guarded by a 5 digit passcode… I don't have time to crack it…"

"WE CAN'T JUST GIVE UP! WE'LL THINK OF SOMETHING!"

"Sonic… the death egg is less than half a mile from breaking the atmosphere. We have nearly two minutes to stop it… it's impossible… the best we can do right now is warn the people!"

"Well then… we can use the chaos emeralds!"

"The last time someone stopped something this big from crashing, they nearly died… I don't want that happening to you!"

"Tails… That's a risk I'm going to have to take!"


	14. Chapter 14: Battle time

Sonic stood there, looking down on Mobius, ready to take on the falling doom ship.

"Tails, I need the emeralds… now." He said, holding his hand out to his friend. Tails' face suddenly turned pale.

"NO!" He yelled, banging his fists on the main computer.

"What?" Knuckles asked, looking over.

"The emeralds… are still back on Mobius…"

"WHAT?!" Sonic yelled. It was then that he remembered Shadow snatching the emerald from Tails and teleporting them without warning. Tails must have not had time to grab them.

"How are we supposed to stop this thing with only one emerald?!" Knuckles shouted, panicking.

"Wait, Shadow can teleport us back down to get them!" Sonic exclaimed, seeing a small glimmer of hope. He spun around to see that Shadow was still asleep in the chair he had set him in. He went to approach, when he sensed a discomforting silence in the air. He spun to face Tails and Knuckles.

"What?" He asked. Tails slowly lifted his finger. Sonic spun back around. In front of him was a huge legion of robots. They each had a weapon with them. Not some lame stun gun, but real guns, real guns that could kill someone. Sonic braced himself. The few robots in the front fired. With no time to move, this seemed to be the end. Sonic closed his eyes. Then… nothing. The sound of bullets clanging onto something metal was all he heard. Opening his eyes, he looked to see what happened. Shadow stood a few feet in front of the three of them. His cuffs had their blades deployed. Bullets lay at his feet. But something just seemed… off. His eyes were closed, as if he were… still asleep. Sleep… fighting? That's a new one…Tails let out a breath of relief, but it was cut short by the other firing at will. Shadow, using the blades, deflected them all as they came. Sonic looked back at Tails.

"Plan B?" He said. Tails nodded, getting ready for a fight. Knuckles pounded his fists together. Clearly, he had been waiting for this. Taking the opportunity of the robots re-loading their weapons, they struck. Robotic limbs and scrap metal flew everywhere. Many of the robots went down easy, but others put up a good fight. Sonic sped through most of them, not even bothering to try and dodge the bullets, thinking he was too fast for them. It was then that he felt something ram into his side, sending him to the ground, followed by a loud gunshot. Shadow had pushed him aside and taken a bullet for him. The whole world seemed to stop in that instant. Sonic's eyes went wide.

"Shadow… you took a bullet… for me?"

Shadow's eyes suddenly shot open. He had woken up. He gritted his teeth and held his side. Sonic stood up and ran to him, hoping he was ok.

"Shadow! Are you ok!?" Sonic said, trying to help him. Shadow suddenly realized he was awake.

"I… I can stop it…" He said. Sonic gave him a confused look.

"What?" he said. Shadow pushed Sonic away and ran for the main computer console. He leaned up against it, taking deep breaths. His glove was soaked with blood. He began trying to access the robots system. With only one free hand, it was quite a challenge. The passcode screen came up. He typed in the one five digit passcode that he knew would work…

"M-A-R-I–A"

The robots began shutting down, one by one, clattering to the floor. Sonic ran to Shadow's side.

"Shadow, how…?"

"Heh… you… still underestimate me?"

Sonic helped him up. Tails ran to his side.

"Sonic, what about the death egg?" He asked. Sonic's eyes went wide.

"I… I don't know…"

Shadow let out a sigh.

"I know what to do… Maria…" he said. Sonic turned to face him.

"Shadow…?"

Shadow pulled back out the one emerald he had and teleported away. Sonic suddenly realized what he planned to do.

"NO!" Sonic yelled, reaching out for the hedgehog that was no longer there.

"Sonic…?" Knuckles said, confused.

"He's going to try and stop the death egg all by himself!"


	15. Chapter 15: Shadow's dream

Shadow felt he was awake, but yet his eyes remained closed. He could feel someone shaking his shoulders.

"Shadow! Wake up!" a voice said. It sounded so familiar.

He slowly opened his eyes. He barely made out a face. Blonde hair and blue eyes greeted him with a smile… Maria. He smiled; something he hadn't done in a while, and sat up.

"Ugh… did I fall asleep again?"

"Heh… yeah…"

"Sorry Maria…"

"No, its fine." She said, smiling down on him. She gently began stroking his quills, which always helped him relax. He suddenly felt weird… like someone else had done it to him before. A blue figure flashed in his mind. Did he… know him? Shadow let out a sigh, closing his eyes and trying to relax. When he opened them, he was… running? He looked back, in his hand, he held Maria's. Then, he remembered… the soldiers!

"Come on! We have to hurry!" He yelled. The sound of soldiers running behind them became louder and louder as they approached. As much as he wanted to speed up, he couldn't just leave Maria behind. She came to an abrupt halt, causing her hand to slip from Shadows. She stood there, trying to catch her breath. The soldiers stopped. Maria looked to Shadow, holding her hand out. He reached for it. One of the soldiers held up his gun and fired.

"MARIA!"

The whole world suddenly faded to black. His eyes shot open, he was running again.

"What the…"

He suddenly felt Maria's hand slip from his.

"NO! NOT AGAIN!"

The gunshot sounded. The darkness surrounded him again. Endlessly, he was forced to live out that traumatic moment. He could remember having this nightmare before, but it was never this bad… No matter how hard he tried, no matter how fast he ran, it was never enough, and each time, it would end with Maria's death. Trapped in this cycle, the end was never clear. It was then that he knew how to end this dream… how to end it all. His legs were burning from running for so long. He felt Maria's hand leave his yet again.

"This is it…"

The solider leveled his gun. Shadow took his chance, pushing Maria out of the way. The shot rang through the air. The bullet hit his side, pain shot through his body. His eyes opened, to reveal he was back on the death egg, awake at last. Sonic was running towards him…

"Shadow! Are you ok!?"

Sonic…


	16. Chapter 16: Its all up to him now

Shadows stood there in Tails' garage… no emeralds were in sight. The window had been smashed and the bag was gone.

"No…"

He leaned against Tails' desk, his wound heavily bleeding.

"Damn it…"

He made his way to the window. Parked outside was a G.U.N van.

"Those bastards! Don't they see the crisis?! We need those!" He leant against the wall. Sliding down it, he felt his side pain grow.

"And to make matters worse, I can't do anything like this…"

It was then that he heard a familiar voice not too far away. Rouge…

"Shadow? Sonic?" her voice sounded so close, yet so far away.

He attempted to get up, failing and ending up on his hands and knees. He knew he was going to bleed out soon. He HAD to get her attention somehow…

"R-rouge…" he choked out. He coughed up some blood and collapsed.

"Sonic? Shadow?" Rouge called out, her voice quivering. Behind her was a G.U.N soldier with a gun to her head.

"Get them to come out… NOW…" He whispered in her ear. She turned her head away, holding back tears, feeling terrible for not being able to cover for them. It didn't take G.U.N too long to track Sonic and his gang. And knowing that Rouge was a close friend of theirs…

"SONIC? SHADOW?" She called again. Lowering her eyes, she could only imagine what G.U.N would do to her friends if they caught them. She COULDN'T let that happen. Eyeing a table they were approaching, she got an idea. She quickly reached back, grabbing the soldier's wrist, flipped him over her shoulders, landing him square on a table, cracking it in half. The blow had knocked him unconscious, thankfully for her. Rouge took the gun from his hands and began searching the house for her friends.

"Shadow? Sonic?" She yelled. Thanks to her sensitive bat hearing, she just barely heard something from the garage...

"R-Rouge…"

She ran down the small flight of stairs and into the garage. Her eyes were met with an unsettling sight… It was Shadow, lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

"SHADOW!"

Sonic, still aboard the death egg, paced back and forth wondering about his friend.

"How could he be such an idiot? This was one thing he couldn't do alone!" He yelled, falling to his knees and pounding the ground with his fists.

"Sonic, it was his choice…" Knuckles said, going to put his hand on him shoulder. Sonic slapped his hand away.

"HE WAS WOUNDED! THE ONE PERSON TO EVER TAKE A BULLET FOR ME COULD BE DEAD!" He yelled, tears flowing down his face. Tails was shocked. He had never seen Sonic like this… never…

"Shadow… why…. WHAY WOULD YOU DO IT?! I DON'T DESERVE MY LIFE! I abandoned my friends; I nearly gave you a concussion! YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET ME DIE!"

Tails had had enough. He grabbed the top of Sonic's head, pulled it up, and hit him as hard as he could.

"GET A GRIP!" He yelled. Sonic knelt there, motionless.

"I'm… I'm sorry… you're right I should just… get a grip…" He said between deep breaths.

"UH GUYS!" Knuckles yelled, pointing at the main monitor. It showed that the death egg had officially broken Mobius's atmosphere.

"It's all up to him now…" Tails thought, looking down on the planet.


	17. Chapter 17: Not over yet

Rouge ran to Shadow.

"SHADOW?!" She yelled. He remained motionless on the floor.

"Oh no…. no, no, no, no!" She yelled, rolling him onto his back.

"Come on! GET UP!" She screamed. Then, she remembered something. The chaos emeralds were in the van outside. Running as fast as she could, she retrieved the bag. Taking one of the emeralds out, she then remembered they were short of one. Running back to Shadow, she prayed that six would be enough. She took them out, laying them on the ground next to her.

"Please…"

Nothing. The emeralds glowed and shone, but nothing happened.

"DAMN IT, GET UP!" Rouge yelled, pounding Shadow's chest. Then, his eyes shot open. He gasped for air and coughed. His fur had turned gold.

"S-super Shadow?! But… we only have six-" She began, but was cut off by Shadow revealing the seventh emerald in his hand. She smiled, glad to see her friend. But then, her eyes fell upon the gunshot wound in his side.

"You… got SHOT?!" She yelled. It was then that outside, all of the emergency sirens throughout the city had gone off.

"No… The death egg…" He said, getting to his feet. Rouge held his shoulders to keep him in place.

"NO! You're coming with me to the hospi-" She began again, but was cut off by Shadow teleporting away, emeralds and all.

"I'm sorry Rouge; this is something only I can do… I'm going to die either way; may as well do something worth enough for everyone to remember…" Shadow thought while traveling through space, still holding his wound.

Sonic stood up, trying to calm down.

"SHADOW BETTER HURRY UP!" WE'VE GOT 5 MINUTES TILL IMPACT!" Tails yelled. Knuckles was trying to keep calm, but the look of panic on his face was obvious. Sonic pressed his hands against the main window, viewing out into space.

"Please…"

Shadow could see the doom ship approaching. He only had one shot at this, he better make it count. Reaching down, he removed the cuffs Tails had made for him. With the increase of power, there was a greater chance of stopping it, but at one big price…

"CHAOS…!" He began, charging up. The death egg was so close he could touch it. Reaching out, he grabbed ahold.

"CONTROL!"

One minute, the planet was so close, now, in a flash of light, it was so far away.

"He…HE DID IT!" Knuckles yelled. He and Tails celebrated and cheered, while Sonic stayed at the window. Tails looked over at him.

"Come on Sonic! Shadow did it!" he yelled to him. Sonic remained still.

"Where is Shadow?" was all he said. The whole ship went silent with those words. Tails walked over to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"I… I'm sorry Sonic…" He said. Sonic narrowed his eyes.

"He's not dead…"

"?"

"I know he isn't. He was still alive the last time, so he should be fine, right?"

Tail's ears dropped. He decided that Sonic needed some time alone. He and Knuckles went to work finding a way to get back to Mobius, leaving him in the empty room. Silence filled the air.

"Shadow… why? You were asleep; did you even know you took a bullet for me?" He thought, looking out into space.

Shadow felt himself drifting through space; the emeralds were crashing down to Mobius. He was no longer in his super state, and was on the verge of death.

"Not exactly the way I wanted to go out, but at least they're ok… and HE'S ok…"


	18. Chapter 18: Rescue

Knuckles walked along with Tails. He hung his head, thinking that Shadow could possibly be dead. Maybe he wasn't as bad of a guy as he had thought. Meanwhile, Tails was trying to locate the escape pods. He himself couldn't help but feel bad too. Had he at least tried to crack the code, Shadow could still be alive. And poor Sonic… Tails had already picked up on how he felt. Though, he still felt that there was something he wasn't telling him…

"Tails! I think I found them!" Knuckles yelled. Tails looked over. Knuckles was standing in front of a door that had "Emergency transport" printed on it. Punching it open, he was met with a disappointing sight. Not escape pods, but hover boards. They looked a lot like the ones Tails had made for them a while ago.

"Great…" he muttered. Tails let out a sigh.

"Let's just keep looking…" he said, walking on. Knuckles followed. He looked out the window. Space seemed so peaceful from Mobius, but now that he was trapped in it… not so much… He took a deep breath and continued walking. It was then that he saw something floating outside. A drop of… blood? Looking closer into the vacuum of space, he could see a dark figure floating motionless. It was…

"SHADOW!" he yelled. Without thinking, Knuckles ran back to where the hover boards were. Tails looked back, confused as to why Knuckles was yelling. Running to see what was wrong, he saw Knuckles grabbing a hover board.

"What are you-?" Tails started, but was cut off by Knuckles hopping on the board, and ridding it straight through the window, shattering it. Tails grabbed onto one of the wall railings to avoid being sucked out with him. Next to him on the wall was the emergency seal button. It would seal any breakage in the windows. He wanted to press it before they ran out of oxygen, but also didn't want to trap his friend outside.

"Whatever the hell you're doing out there Knux, you better hurry up." Tails thought.

Speeding through space, Knuckles could see the figure clearly now. It WAS Shadow, and he didn't seem to be ok. He no longer had his super form, and was still injured. Knuckles sped up, feeling he was running out of oxygen. He whipped the board around, picked up Shadow, and headed back for the ship.

"C'mon, faster…" He thought. Shadow was ice cold and wasn't moving. He could see the broken window he had exited through approaching. He could tell this wasn't going to be a soft landing. Spinning around backward and holding Shadow close, he felt himself enter the ship, his back hitting the wall...hard. He slid to the ground. Tails quickly hit the button, sealing the broken window with a steel cover. Knuckles took a deep breath of air, happy to breathe it again. Tails looked down and saw Shadow.

"How did he…?" Tails thought as he ran to his side. Checking his pulse, he was still alive, but barely. Knuckles stood up, rubbing his aching back.

"You Ok?" Tails asked. Knuckles chuckled.

"Heh… I've… had… worse…" He said between breaths. Tails let out a small laugh, and went back to making sure Shadow would live. It was simply amazing that he was still alive now…

"Knuckles, I HAVE to go tell Sonic! Will you keep an eye on sleeping beauty here?" He asked. Knuckles nodded. Tails gave him a thumbs up and went to go and find Sonic. Knuckles sat down and looked over at the dark hedgehog. His side was still bleeding heavily. He needed first aid. Knuckles knew he had seen a first aid kit somewhere along the hallway. Getting up, he took off to find it. Shadow was unconscious; it wasn't like he was going anywhere. The kit wasn't too far away thankfully. But it WAS bolted to the wall. Ripping it off, he took it and ran back down the hallway. When he got back, he knelt down next to Shadow. He opened up the kit, grabbed a roll of gauze and a bottle of cleaning alcohol, and went to clean Shadow's wound. It was then that Shadow's eyes shot open. He reached up and grabbed Knuckles' wrist to stop him, breathing heavy and holding his bleeding side.

"Easy Shadow. I'm just cleaning you're wound…" Knuckles said, trying to calm him down. Shadow was confused an in pain, getting him mad like this wasn't a good plan. He released Knuckles' wrist and let out a breath. Knuckles went to clean his wound with the alcohol, but Shadow refused to move his hand.

"C'mon Shadow, I'm just trying to help you!" He said, gently grabbing his hand. He moved it aside. Shadow glared at him, obviously not having the strength to stop him.

"This might sting a bit…" He said, hoping Shadow wouldn't freak out. Slowly, he began to clean the gunshot wound. Shadow hissed and clenched his hands into fists. Knuckles kept his free hand on his chest to keep him down. Once he was done cleaning it, he went to work bandaging it up.

"There, that should at least hold you until we get to a hospital." Knuckles said. Shadow let out a sigh, and turned away. Knuckles stood up and rubbed his back.

"Thank you…"

Just hearing those word surprised Knuckles enough to make him shudder. He looked back. Shadow was looking directly at him.

"…Me?"

"No idiot the wall, YES you! I know you saved me and well… you heard me the first time." Shadow said. Knuckles sighed, knowing that was the best he was going to get.

"No… problem I guess…"


	19. Chapter 19: We're just getting started

-Back on Earth-

After finding the escape pods, they landed far out from the city hoping not to get caught by G.U.N. Running from them right now wasn't very hard, seeing as the whole planet was panicking, still thinking their lives were in danger. With no other options, they found a cave to take shelter and hide in.

"Damn it we need to get back to the city! He needs to get to a hospital!" Knuckles yelled, pointing at Shadow. He was clearly set on getting his way.

"Would you rather we all get thrown in jail instead?!" Sonic yelled, getting in his face. Tails was busy changing Shadow's bandages and ignoring the fight behind him. It was a real challenge…

"They wouldn't be able to! We just saved the planet!" Knuckles yelled. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"What proof do we have!?"

"How else did the Death Egg just disappear?!"

"You think G.U.N will believe us?!"

"There's a chance!"

Tails clenched his fists. Rising to his feet, he spun to face the two.

"ENOUGH!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Sonic and Knuckles stopped, surprised by Tails' outburst.

"Look, we lay low until this all dies down! OK?!" He stated firmly. Knuckles folded his arms and grunted.

"HAH!" Sonic laughed. Knuckles wouldn't take any more of it. He stormed out of the cave.

"Oh come on Knux!" Tails yelled after him. Sonic grabbed his arm to stop him from following the echidna.

"Dude, he just needs some time to cool down…" he said. Tails pulled his arm away.

"Don't…" He said, turning away and walking to the back of the cave. Sonic went to say something, but stopped. Maybe they all needed time to cool down…

Knuckles walked until he couldn't see the cave anymore, his fists clenched. He couldn't keep his anger in any longer. He drove his fist through a small group of tall trees. Then another… and another… he had practically leveled the entire forest when he finally stopped. He sat down on one of the fallen trees and tried to clear his mind. He just couldn't control himself sometimes, and the last thing he wanted was to accidently hurt one of his friends. Usually, people would say the only one who can make you do something is yourself, but the way his mind worked was… different. If he was mad enough, no one could stop him. That was why he had lost all his rights to guarding the master emerald.

"It was just one outbreak! It's not my fault!" He thought, closing his eyes. The wind had begun to pick up around him, blowing leaves off of the ground. It was then that he realized how cold it was. Standing up, he headed back to the cave, trying to keep Sonic out of his thoughts.

-G.U.N Headquarters-

The planet was no longer in danger, but the people were still panicked. Commander Tower was doing everything he could to calm them, but they just wouldn't listen.

"I want all minor agents on crowd control now!" He yelled into the intercom. Falling into his chair, he rubbed his temple. All this was pushing him way over the edge.

"Uh oh, someone's stressed" A voice behind him said. That Australian accent was unmistakable.

"You choose now to show up…" he groaned, resting his head in his hand. From the shadows behind him, a purple weasel stepped out, spinning a gun in his hand.

"You know… I could easily take out a few of 'em to 'calm' them down." He said, loading the gun he held.

"That won't be necessary Nack. Especially after you failed you're last mission" Tower said, glaring towards him.

"So I hit the wrong target, so what? They look the same anyways…" He spat, folding his arms. It was then that an idea popped into the commander's head.

"You know… you could always finish your mission…" He said, a smile on his face. Nack's eyes met his.

"You mean…"

"You might have to slit a few more throats than before, but yes."

Nack let out an evil smile, his signature fang showing sharp as ever.

"No problem, how many do I need to take out exactly…"

"However many are with him."

"That means however many I kill, thats how many times my payment doubles."

"Fine, now go find him!"

Nack gave a sarcastic salute followed by a sarcastic "Yes sir". Without another word, he was gone. Gone to finish the mission he should have twenty years ago…


	20. Chapter 20: Hostage

Sonic lay on the cold ground of the cave. The night had come sooner than they had thought. He didn't know what time it was, but judging by the moon, he made the assumption that it was midnight. He still couldn't sleep. With no blankets or pillows, he was surprised that anyone could. Tails had used his tails to make himself a pillow and a blanket so he was sleeping quite soundly.

"Lucky…" Sonic said under his breath, folding his arms. He had tried everything, sitting up, lying down, rolling over, but he just couldn't get to sleep. Giving up, he moved out to the mouth of the cave. He sat there, counting stars, hoping to get tired eventually. Then, he heard it. Shadow was growling and whimpering yet again. Sonic tried to ignore it, but just hearing the ultimate life form in such pain broke his heart. Finally, he couldn't take any more and stood up. He headed back into the cave and could see Shadow lying at the very back thanks to the full moons light. Slowly, he made his way over to him. He reached down and began to stroke his head just like he had before. The growls and grunts stopped and silence fell over the two.

"Oh Shadow, am I gonna have to do this every night?" Sonic said, slightly smiling. Shadow let out a deep breath and relaxed. Sonic once again tried to stop, but once his hand didn't return to his head, Shadow would tense up and growl again.

"What are you dreaming about that's so bad?" Sonic said to himself, running his fingers through his friend's quills.

"I have a few ideas…" a voice behind him said. Sonic's eyes went wide. He knew that voice. He quickly stood up and lunged at the figure, wasting no time. It dodged the attack and ran into the cave. Sonic ran in back after him, but stopped when he saw the situation. It was who he thought it was, Nack the Weasel, with his gun aimed at Shadow's head.

"Aw, would you look at this…" he said, seeing Shadow growling and whimpering on the ground. He reached down and began to stroke his head. Shadow didn't seem as relaxed as before, but his growling ceased. Nack then stopped and his growls returned, slightly louder than before. Upon closer inspection, Nack saw the gunshot wound on Shadow's side. He reached down and jabbed his thumb into the bandages covering it. Shadow let out a groan of pain and writhed underneath the weasel.

"Stop!" Sonic yelled. Nack then realized he had taken the right hostage.

"Cute…'shame I'm gonna have to blow his brains out..." Nack said, drawing back his hand and cocking his gun.

"Don't. Touch. Him!" Sonic shouted. Nack smirked.

"Make me." he said. From his current position, Sonic could do nothing. If he made one wrong move, his friend would pay the price. To show he wasn't kidding, he jabbed his thumb back into the wound, deeper than before, making Shadow yell out in pain.

"Ok! What do you want?" Sonic asked, showing his surrender.

"You are going to come back with me to see your good friend the commander. And also more than likely be sentenced to death. Come quietly and maybe I won't come back and kill you're little friends here." Nack said, gesturing to Knuckles and Tails. Sonic let out a sigh. His life for his friends…

"Alright… I'll go, just leave them alone…" He said. Nack clapped his hands together.

"Good choice mate." He said, pulling out a pair of hand cuffs. He put them on Sonic and put his gun to his head.

"Now move it." He said. Sonic stared at the ground as he walked out of the cave, leaving his friends behind… again…


End file.
